Product Guides

The fashion industry is the second biggest polluter in the world. Major brands are exploiting garment workers and harming the environment in the production of shoes and clothing. However, there has been a rise in sustainable fashion brands, making everything from sportswear to underwear who are putting people and the planet before profit.

Product Guides

As food & drink prices continue to rise across the world, it is often the producers and workers who are losing out to big corporations. We shine a light on the food sovereignty movement pushing for a fairer food system that supports local business and we comment on the rise of veganism.

Product Guides

Many of the issues from our homes & garden are often hidden from the consumer, from toxic chemicals in our cleaning products to pesticides in our garden. We look at the greenest way to wash, clean and cook and how to recycle your old appliances.

The mainstream banking & insurance industries continue to invest in shady investments such as fossil fuels and nuclear weapons. However, a growing number of ethical alternatives makes it easier than ever to switch to a sustainable bank account or pick an insurance company with an ethical policy.

We look at shops or online platforms that sell a range of products, and how they tend to dominate the market by implementing a profit-first business model and by having a lacklustre approach to ethical practice. We also celebrate ethical companies offering an alternative, from online retailers to sustainable fashion brands.

Product Guides

The tech sector is plagued by reports of tax avoidance, corporate lobbying and the use of conflict minerals. We look at the brands proving that technology can be made ethically, from Fairphone to Green ISP.

Product Guides

Are you a lover of the outdoors? Unfortunately the companies that provide your outdoor gear & transport are often harming the environment; from car companies cheating emission tests to outdoor gear companies using toxic chemicals that damage the environment. We provide practical information for consumers on how to keep your ethics while you travel.

Product Guides

Food Labelling

Share this:

Friday 13th of May 2016

A guide to food labelling to help make ethical shopping easy.

As an ethical shopper, there are a number of important labels and ingredients to consider when browsing the food aisle. However, many hidden ingredients and confusing labels can make ethical shopping a laborious and difficult task.

Palm-Oil Free

The demand for more palm oil plantations and increased deforestation is having a devastating impact on local communities, biodiversity and climate change. Many consumers are becoming aware of the alarming consequences of palm oil and are trying to avoid the ingredient. However, this can seem a daunting task when over 50% of supermarket items contain palm oil.

All food products sold in Europe must now clearly state in the ingredients list whether palm oil is used. They can't just say 'vegetable oil' any more. But much of the palm oil we consume is derivatives of the oil itself. It is important to try to avoid these derivatives as well because they make up about 60% of global palm oil use.

Selvabeat, a vegan and palm oil-free magazine, have put together a handy guide to help you spot these derivatives.

Take a picture of this image, or memorise the four words, and it could help you spot over half of the fatty acid compounds that are often made from palm oil.

Alternatively, to ensure you are definitely buying products with zero palm oil or derivatives, use our palm oil free list. The list includes a range of biscuits, chocolates, chocolate spread, pet food and nut butter.

Vegan

If you are avoiding all animal products, the first step is to look out for the Vegan Society trademark logo which appears on over 18,000 products and guarantees that a product is vegan and not animal tested.

For products not carrying the logo, look out for a 'suitable for vegans' symbol.

However, spotting the symbol can be challenging when buying supermarket own-brand products. For example, The Co-op, Sainsbury's, Waitrose and Tesco are more likely to label their products as vegan than ASDA or Morrisons. Check out the Vegan Society's list of vegan items in UK supermarkets.

The next step is to look at the ingredients. Changes in food labelling laws means that all allergens now have to be highlighted in bold in the ingredients list. This means that all products containing dairy and eggs will be clearly marked, making it slightly easier to decipher unusual ingredients and check whether a product is vegan or not.

Organic & Free Range

Organic and Free Range labels are useful for shoppers seeking higher animal welfare in their products. 'Organic' standards mean that animals must not be given any hormones, antibiotics or GMOs.

Free Range labelling varies for each animal. Chickens must spend half their lives outside, whereas pigs are born outside in fields and remain outside until slaughtered. While this allows animals the ability to roam around for part of the day, it says nothing about the quality of the rest of their life or whether they are routinely fed GM foods or antibiotics.

To ensure higher animal welfare standards it is best to pick organic produce. While all organic food meets free range requirements, free range produce doesn't have to be organic.

Look for the Soil Association logo, as this organic scheme seeks to set even higher standards than the EU organic requirements.

Ethical Consumer Best Buy Label

Our Best Buy Label helps you choose genuinely ethical products. Our team of researchers looks in detail at the environmental and ethical record of both the product and the company.

By evaluating the company first it ensures that our label would never be rewarded to a company selling a 'fairtrade' or 'organic' product if they are a controversial multinational corporation.

The Best Buys are taken from our detailed product guides, rating everything from bread to banks. The product and company are then rated against more than 20 animal welfare, environmental and human rights criteria in our ranking system.

MSC Fish

Established in 1997, the Marine Stewardship Council is the world's leading certification and eco-labelling program for sustainable seafood.

Three factors play into determining whether a fishery can be granted the MSC certification.

However, back in 2011 the MSC was criticised by Greenpeace for allowing controversial fisheries to be given MSC status. Richard Page, Greenpeace oceans campaigner, said these decisions 'seriously undermine' the MSC's credibility.

A separate but similarly-named organisation, the Marine Conservation Society (MCS), offers a 'Good Fish Guide' where you can search for sustainable fish species but it doesn't list brands or retailers. Its handy APP means that you can search for sustainable fish while shopping.

Also of interest

In this guide we investigate, score and rank the ethical and environmental record of 15 tuna brands.
We also look at MSC certification, slavery on tuna fishing boats, shine a spotlight on the ethics of Fish4Ever and give our recommended buys.

In this guide we investigate, score and rank the ethical and environmental record of 21 meat-free sausage brands.
We also look at soya, GM, shine a spotlight on the ethics of Hain Celestial and give our recommended buys.

In this guide we investigate, score and rank the ethical and environmental record of 13 supermarkets.
We also look at an A-Z of policies from palm oil to cocoa production, shine a spotlight on the ethics of Tesco and give our recommended buys.